Wren dropped from her ship onto the plush grass of a field outside of an abandoned human settlement. Wild cattle grazed in the distance, a few of them lifting their heads to observe her, but after deeming her no thread, they continued their meal.

Small flowers dotted the fields and shrubs had begun to creep in from the edge of the forest. A cold wind blew in from the north and she exhaled a sharp breath of fog.

Beyond the forest the mountains rose high over the treetops. The craggy cliffs jutted up into the clouds, obscuring their snowy peaks. They were breathtaking, shaming their sisters on the Moon,

Wren was happy to be back on Earth, free of her helmet and able to see more than stark white.

"There should be plenty of Spinmetal in the forest," Kiran said, floating out toward the trees. He stopped a few feet out and turned to her. "you should have worn your armor."

"This is a peaceful area," she said. "No tech for Fallen to steal, no dark caves for Hive. It's safe."

"But the whole mountain is a darkness zone."

"We're not going up there either. We'll be fine, Kiran."

Wren tightened the fur collar of her cloak and checked the laces of her boots before mounting her Sparrow. Franz and Beorn had spent hours helping her scrape off the flaking green paint to redo it all in a flat black. It wasn't fancy like some of the others she'd seen, but at least it didn't look as bad as before.

The Sparrow repairs had been necessary, but it had also been a cover. She didn't want to seek out Cayde, but more hoped she could run into him. When that didn't happen at Cerulean's debriefing, she thought being in the hanger might help. For all the hours she spent there, she never saw him once. No one had and the Vanguard were unwilling to discuss it. Zavala claimed it was classified and Ikora insisted Cayde was fine.

Wren couldn't ask further. People would get the wrong idea and that was the last thing she needed. There was already too much to deal with keeping the Better Devils on her hip.

Flak had given her the most trouble about it, but she hadn't missed stares and whispers from other Guardians at seeing her in basic armor with a new, pristine weapon at her side. She didn't think Cayde had done it on purpose to draw attention to her and had she not grown to love the hand cannon, she might have put it in the Vault.

"Let's get this over with," Kiran sighed.

"Why? You have somewhere to be?" Wren laughed.

"No. Just don't like being so close to the mountain."

"We'll keep our distance. Spinmetal shouldn't grow that far up anyway."

Wren didn't wait for him to protest. She leaned forward, settling in before taking off like a shot across the fields. This time the whole heard of cattle raised their heads to her, the calves running to their moths while the older ones waited to see if she would get any closer.

Tall grasses parted beneath her, rustling like waves as she neared the tree line. A path wide enough for two Sparrows to ride side by side had been cut between a pair of twin oaks that towered like guards on either side of the entrance.

A symbol had been painted on the trees and although smudged and faded, it was clearly a sign that this was a resource trail for Spinmetal.

She slowed in the forest, keeping her eyes peeled for the shimmering silver leaves Zavala had sent her after. There were cut stalks here and there with buds of fresh leaves from revoking plants, but Wren passed them by in search of mature plants.

"Where did Spinmetal come from? What's its story?"

"Not sure," Kiran admitted. "They don't seem very natural though, do they? Maybe the Traveler had something to do with them."

Wren turned sharply to the left when the trail split and stared into the darkness before her. The right path had smaller, thinned out trees. Sunlight filtered to the dirt path below and a brown rabbit bolted across to the safety of the bushes. The path was free of grass and debris, well-worn under Sparrows.

The left path grew thick, the canopy blocking light. The trail had more grass and wasn't as well worn. Her heart raced and she slowly drifted toward the darkness.

"Are you sure you want to go that way?"

"The other path is well travelled. We'll have to go a lot farther to find the Spinmetal and I don't want to do that. Besides, doesn't this side look more exciting?"

"Looks like death."

"Oh, please," Wren laughed. "let's go."

Kiran chuckled nervously but stayed beside her, shining his light through the trees are she slowly rode down the path.

A couple miles in and Wren was beginning to think she'd made the wrong decision. They hadn't seen the first spring of Spinmetal. She considered going bac when she heard a creek ahead. At the water's edge Kiran drifted over the middle of the creek, his light falling on the path that picked back up on the other side but in his movement, Wren caught a glimpse of something silver.

"What's that?" she asked.

Kiran shifted and the glint turned into a bright shining mass of Spinmetal on the opposite bank.

"Perfect," Wren said, dismounting the Sparrow. It lowered to rest on the ground, but Kiran didn't transmat it away in case they need to make a quick escape.

Rock to rock she crossed the creek, icy water soaking into her boots.

"Be careful," Kiran warned.

"I've got this. Can you see if there's any more nearby?"

Kiran hesitated before floating off, leaving Wren to cut leaves from the plant. The area around the water's edge was thick with Spinmetal very few of them had been cut before.

"There's so much," Kiran said as Wren moved toward the next patch, bag nearly full.

"I was thing the same thing. I wonder why people don't come this way when Spinmetal is so abundant here."

"Because it's dark and spooky."

"We've been in darker, scarier places than this. Most Guardians have, I'd think. Doesn't really explain it."

A shadow darted between the trees in Wren's f periphery and she snapped her head toward the movement.

"What was that?"

"What? Where?" Kiran's light passed over trees, but say nothing,

"I thought I saw something move over there,"

"Hurry up and let's get out of here."

"I still have another bag to fill. I'm not going back with a load because I was scared off by a shadow."

"You don't have to. We can get the rest from the other path."

Wren stood silent, still, waiting. The babbling creek was the only sound besides the faint clicking of Kiran's shifting shell. No rustle of leaves or bird calls. No crickets, frogs, or footsteps. All was still.

"I was probably just imagining it."

"Urgent transmission to any Guardians in Old Russia."

Zavala's booming voice made Wren jump. Kiran flashed and disappeared. Wren slapped her hand over her heart and let out a sharp breath and chuckle at the realization.

"Scared me to death," she muttered.

"Is anyone near the northern area of the Shatterstone Mountain range?

"This is Wren. I'm in the forest at the foot of Warstead Peak."

"Good. Unless anyone else is closer, I'll contact you on a private line. Standby."

Kiran reappeared and made what could be considered a shrugging motion in response to Wren's confused expression.

"Wren?" Zavala's voice came through.

"I'm here."

"I assume it's coincidence that your resource retrieval mission led you to that specific mountain range?"

Wren glanced at Kiran, confused at the suspicion in the Commander's voice.

"Kiran suggested the forest as a popular place to search for Spinmetal."

Zavala fell silent for a moment before speaking again. "You're aware that there is a darkness zone extending halfway up the mountain up to its peak?'

"Yes."

"The mission I'm about to give you is strictly confidential. I can't give you any information as to the original mission, but what you do know will be classified. DO you understand/

"Yessir."

"Cayde went on a mission to that range two days ago. Our last communication with him was cut off after the sounds of heavy gunfire. We need someone to track him down and if possible, bring him home."

Wren's shoulders dropped. He'd been missing since the day he tried to apologize to her.

"What are his last known coordinates?" Kiran asked when Wren failed to reply.

Wren inhaled and drew her gaze toward the canopy, where barely a sliver of light broke through the dense limbs. Cayde was out there, somewhere, possibly injured of dead. Guilt sank into her bones that she'd been laughing and joking with friends, unaware that he was alone in the wilds, facing unknown dangers.

"I'll send the coordinates to you," Zavala said. "Track his position from there and update until you no longer can. I suspect he's headed into the darkness zone farther up the mountain. Once you get an idea of where he might have gone, we'll send Holliday in for an evac."

Understood," Kiran said.

"Are you still there Guardian?"

"Yessir. I'll track him down," Wren replied, snapping back at the question.

"Good. We'll be awaiting your reply."

The line went quiet and they were alone once more.

"Cayde's last known location isn't far from here," Kiran said, floating toward the other side of the creek where the forest path became narrower and more overgrown. "We should get going. Wish you had your armor."

"We don't have time to go back for it now." Wren slung the full back of Spinmetal onto her sparrow and mounted up.

"Just be careful." Kiran disappeared, choosing to speak to Wren in safety. "Head up the trail a couple miles. There should be a path on the right that heads up the mountain.

Water arced behind her as she crossed, sizzling on the flames that roared from the Sparrow. The path grew harder to navigate, causing her to stop several times to dismount and climb over fallen trees or boulders that had crumbled from the cliffs above.

"Maybe we should ditch the Sparrow," Kiran said. "Last thing we need is a rockslide."

"Do you think that's what happened to Cayde?"

"Hm… maybe, but I doubt it. He may be kind of dumb sometimes, but he's not entirely stupid. Believe it or not, he's a skilled tracker and I doubt he'd do anything to cause a rock—"

Kiran was cut off by the echo of gunfire, each shot followed by a small explosion that echoed across the forest like thunder. He sighed.

"Never mind."

"Is that him?" Wren asked.

"Sounded like the Ace of Spades to me."

"It still sounds so far away."

"Lucky for us," Kiran said as loose rocks tumbled down the cliff. "Let's keep moving."

Wren climbed over a pile of boulders, boots slipping on the soft moss that had gathered on the older rocks at the bottom of the pile. The path on the other side was completely grown over. The only indication they were still on a trail at all was the absence of mature trees in the otherwise dense forest.

"We should update Zavala," Wren said.

"I'll patch him in. We're close to the coordinates anyway."

"Van you hear me, Guardian?" Zavala's voice crackled with interference and Wren stopped walking. Any farther and she might lose the signal.

"Yes, Commander. We're approaching the coordinates you gave us and I think we just head the Ace."

"I hope you're right. Warstead Peak is a decent place for evac. We'll start sending ships in every six hours until someone can pull you out, but the ships can only make one pass. You'll have to wait if you're too late. I can't risk losing more people to that range."

"I understand."

"Good. Now, Cayde would have found a way to mark his trail once he was in the darkness zone. It's up to you to find that trail. Stay safe out there, Guardian."

The signa went dead and Wren heard a snapping branch to her right, the heavy limb crashing to the forest floor. Not even a bird took flight and Wren couldn't tell what might have caused it.

There were no animals or shadows moving in the canopy. She rested her hand on the Better Devils and listened intently until Kiran spoke.

"Maybe it was the wind?" he offered quietly.

"What wind?"

"Let's go."

Wren took one last look before wading through knee high grass and the occasional scraggly scrub that had begun to overgrow the unused Sparrow trail.

"What's that?" Kiran asked. "Two o'clock. Is that sunlight?"

"Looks like it." Wren headed over to a large area off burned grass. Ashes lay thick at her feet, covering the ground in a carpet of gray. Chunks of trees had been blown apart and one tree had fallen completely, leaving a hole in the canopy above. Wren blinked from the light, using her hand to shield her eyes.

Eye level was a bullet hole in a tree, blood coating the splintered bark. Wren traced her finger over the hole, picking at the splinters.

"This might have been Cayde."

"This was a pretty intense explosion. Might have been the cause for those fresh boulders that were on the trail."

"Looks like someone ran up the hill," Wren said, spotting a place where the grass was bent lower than the rest. "It might have been him."

"Or it might have been an enemy."

Wren peered over her shoulder.

"What is it?" Kiran asked.

"I don't know. Just feel like I'm being watched. I can't shrug it off anymore. Something's out there."

"I'm not picking anything up on radar, but it could be the darkness keeping me from a clear reading."

"Or they're staying out of range on purpose."

"What if they're following us to find Cayde?"

Wren chewed her cheek, still scanning the trees for anything strange. "If they really wanted to find him, wouldn't they follow the same path we are? The explosion, the bent grass, it's obvious."

"Hey, what's that? I see something under that bush. Is that…" Kiran's voice trailed as Wren knelt to pick up what was unmistakably Cayde's right arm, still in its torn leather sleeve. Wires hung from the shredded, charred metal.

"Whoever did this waited until he was deep enough in the darkness zone to be unable to heal or call for help."

"We could be next," Kiran said.

"I think we need to find Cayde. If they are looking for him and using us to find him, they probably won't attack until we've succeeded."

So… we're going to lead whoever it is to an injured, one armed Cayde?"

"I'll gladly go with another plan." Wren said, lashing Cayde's arm to her hip.

"We'll, I'd gladly offer one if I had one."

"Up we go then," Wren said, heading farther up the steep hill until she was practically on her hands and knees, pulling herself up by trees and saplings until the forest thinned and she no longer had anything to hold onto but rocks.

The ground became rockier, grass scarcer until there wasn't thing at all. A few trees grew from cracks in the mountain, as if to prove their tenacity.

Wren stopped to catch her breath, which came in thick white clouds. The sun was lower in the sky than she expected, and the temperature was dropping. As long as she kept moving, she could stay warm but if she didn't find Cayde doon, she'd be forced to find shelter and build a fire to survive until morning. It would be embarrassing to freeze to death on a rescue mission and likewise, have to be rescued.

Gunfire rang out again, much closer than before. The cliffs to her right crumbled and boulders crashed down the slope, destroying trees as they ploughed through the forest. Wren knelt and watched, the ground beneath her shaking her off balance.

"Any closer and we'd be in trouble."

"Can you tell where the shots were coming from?" Wren asked, finally able to stand. "I can't tell with the echo."

"North East I think."

"You want me to climb?"

"I think you have to. See that split in the mountain? It came from that way."

Wren traversed the uneven slope, working her way slowly as pebbles caused her boots to slide. She kept a hand on the sheer wall of the cliff once she was at the top and unto go any farther up. The feeling of being watches never stopped, despite being far from the tree line.

She neared the crevasse and realized it was much deeper than she expected. The walls towered overhead on either side and the back was a wall with a split in it. The crack itself was wide enough for her to slip into, but not wide enough for someone Cayde's size.

Above was a rocky outcrop that she couldn't see over. Bodies of Dregs lay motionless in the narrow split, blood still fresh on one of them. The oldest looking body was half shoved in the crack near the rear of the crevice, it's blood deeper in color and dried.

"He was here." Wren nudged the fresh corpse with the toe of her boot, grimacing at what was left of the Dreg's head. Her stomach rolled and she thought she might vomit until Kiran drew her attention away.

"Look. There's a marking on that wall."

A white chalk picture was drawn a near a ledge, but Wren couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"What does it mean?"

"I don't know. Is it an ocean? A lake maybe?" Kiran sighed.

"And what about that arrow?"

"Might be a symbol for the mountain peak? Is this Cayde's way of marking his location? It's terrible."

"This isn't helpful."

The skittering of rocks behind her caught her attention. She whipped around to see two Vandals at the entrance to the crevice, weapons trained on her.

Wren drew the Better Devils and took aim, but the Fallen spoke in rushed, aggressive tones.

"What are they saying?"

"My translation is shaky, but I think they're saying you're in their territory and … and well, they want Cayde."

One of the Vandals pointed to the dismembered arm that dangled from her belt, but she turned her hip to obstruct it from view.

"Tell them they can't have him."

Se, I could try, but there's a good chance my translation will be wrong, and they'll just shoot us."

"They'll do that anyway when they realize I'm not going to help them."

What do we do?"

The Vandals kept speaking, their voiced growing louder as they began to back Wren up into the crevice.

"What do we do?" Kiran repeated.

Wren's heart pounded, she readjusted her grip, eyes darting between the two of them. "I've been in worse positions than this. I've killed Swarm Princes."

"But not in a darkness zone."

"I'm going to have to take them both out."

"Just don't get killed."

When one of the Vandals pointed with all but one of its arms, Wren took a shot at the other Vandal, taking advantage of the pointing ones distraction. The bullet slammed into the second Vandal's shoulder and its body jerked back. She swung to shoot the first one when it opened fire on her. She ducked behind a rock outcrop when a thunderous boom from above echoed from the crevice walls.

Wren dropped and looked up to see Cayde, leaning out of a cave above. She peered around the rock to see one of the Vandals dead and the one she'd injured dropped as a bullet from the Ace split its head apart with an explosion.

"I had it handled," she said, dropping the Better Devils in its holster. Her face burned but at least no one else was around to see him helping her.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"Zavala sent me after you."

"You're not wearing armor?"

"No. I was collecting Spinmetal. I just happened to be the closest Guardian. But I can go back and get them to send someone else…" she trailed off, heading back the way she came.

"No, no, there's no problem," He stammered. "You don't have to do that. I mean…. You came all this way."

Wren stopped beside the bodies of the Fallen, hand on her hip. She didn't think it would be so difficult to see him again, but she could breath a sigh of relief that he wasn't dead.

"Could I ask a teeny tiny favor?" he asked.

"Depends."

"Do you think you could… you know… dispose of those bodies for me? We're in Fallen territory and dead bodies might be a giveaway to our position."

Wren held her arms out. "And what about all this blood? Hm? Can't really hide that."

Cayde opened his mouth, then closed it. "Yeah, good point." He disappeared a moment, then poked his head out. "Sundance says we'll be getting snow tonight. It could cover up the evidence."

"Ok, but what am I going to do with four dead Fallen?"

"Pull them as far in as you can. I hid one there before… well, before I got stuck up here."

"Hid? It's half hanging out of the crack." Wren grabbed his dismembered arm and held it up, waving it at him. "Oh yeah, I think I have something of yours."

"Ah!" he slapped a rock. "Good! You found it. Great. Hide those bodies and get up here."

Cayde disappeared again and Wren rolled her eyes. She grabbed one of the Dreg's legs and pulled it to the back of the cevice. By the time all four of the Fallen were piled up, snow began to fall, creating dark splotches on the stone. Wren climbed the ledges until she reached the cave where Cayde was. A thick sheet of faux lichen covered the cave entrance from view. She pushed it aside to reveal a small cave, dimly lit by a lantern that hung a couple feet over Cayde's head. A small pile of wood, old and riddled with insects sat in a nook near the door. Wren grimaced and stepped away from it, moving to stand in the middle of the cave.

Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled in the distance. Kiran lit up the cave a little brighter, adding to the lantern and Sundance, who was sitting on Cayde's shoulder where the arm should have been connected. The joint looked to be in better shape than the arm and was free of wires or torn metal.

However, there was another problem. Wren's eyes dragged down Cayde's scorched and marred right side to see that his right leg below the knee was also missing. Her heart dropped but his face remained cheerful. Had he been human or Awoken, she might not have found him. He'd have died and she'd be searching for a body.

"Mind handing that over?" he asked, pointing to his arm. Wren removed it and gave it to him. His expression shifted. "I can't do anything with this right now. It'll have to wait till we get back to the Tower."

"Where's your leg?"

"No clue," he admitted setting the arm down beside him. "I guess you found where they ambushed me the first time. Got me with a rocket launcher."

"I saw the blast area, but no bodies. Just your arm."

"Hm. They must have taken the bodies somewhere else. Did you see the other spot?"

"No, I didn't see anything else."

He nodded slowly. "My leg might be back there, but I'm not worried about it. Well, except that it'll be hard to get out of here without it."

"I can go look for it." Wren turned to leave, but he called her back.

"No, really, it's fine. Don't go out in that."

Again lightning lit the sky, the light passing around the edges of the faux lichen as Wren's hand began to move it and she had to admit, as difficult as it was to be in the same room as him, being outside wasn't any more appealing.

"C'mon," Kiran whispered. "Talk to him."

Wren took a deep breath and went to sit down a few feet from Cayde. Kiran rested on her knee, staring at her intently. She did her best to ignore him, pulling off her blood-stained gloves and shoving them in her pocket. While she tried to think of what to say, she hadn't realized how long she'd sat in silence until Cayde cleared his throat.

"So… Zavala sent you out here?"

Wren nodded. "He said you'd been missing a couple days and might need help. Guess that was accurate."

"What's the plan?"

"Zavala is going to start sending ships every six hours until they can pull us out but we'll have to figure out how to get you up to the peak."

"I'm going to assume that since you don't have armor you also don't have any supplies?"

"For your information, I did bring enough food for a day, as well as extra ammo, flint, and some rope."

"Woah, tiger," Cayde said, holding his left hand up defensively. "I didn't mean anything by it."

Wren gritted her teeth, staring down at her boots, the same bitter feeling she had when he didn't show up welled to the surface. He seemed to sense it and after some silence he spoke, quietly, calmly.

"I'm sorry about what happened."

Kiran peeked up at Wren, then disappeared, Sundance following suit. The cave grew a little darker without them but at least she didn't have to feel like she was being watched.

"I had every intention of meeting you that night. But when I got back to the Tower, Ikora stopped me and gave me this mission. I had to get ready to leave and it's classified. I couldn't tell you where I was going."

"But you could have let me know you weren't coming. It's as easy as finding someone to go to the North Gate and saying, "Hey, sorry, Cayde said something came up and he can't meet you." Was that not an option? You were still around the next morning to—" Wren cut herself off. She'd turned her back on him. Ignored him. "If you didn't leave until after we did, why couldn't you have… I don't know."

"If I would have come to your room in the middle of the night there'd be rumors all over the Tower before Zavala'd have time for his first cup of coffee. I didn't think you'd want that."

If only he knew the Better Devils had already stirred those same rumors. Maybe it was for the best that he hadn't sent someone. That he hadn't popped up at her room in the middle of the night. It didn't make it hurt any less."

"Look, next time I'll handle it differently. If… if there is a next time?"

Wren shrugged. "We'll see."

"Will a bowl of ramen change your mind?"

"Maybe," she grinned.

"I don't guess you have any with you?"

"That's not exactly a food you pack in a bag for a mission."

"So, what do you have? I'm starving."

"I didn't think Exos needed to eat," she replied, fishing some bread and jerky from her bag.

"It's complicated. What isn't complicated, is your need for a fire. The problem is, I don't think it's safe to start a fire in here. There's no way for the smoke to escape and I'll tell ya, smoke inhalation is a terrible way to go." He tore chunk of bread from the half loaf she'd handed him. "But on the other hand, it'll only get colder tonight. If we're not careful, you'll freeze to death. Not that it's too big of a deal. I can bring you back. Sounds like a nasty way to go. They say when you get cold enough your body thinks you're hot and you start stripping down to your skivvies. Can you imagine that? You finally freeze to death 'cuz you thought you were burning up."

Wren stopped chewing her jerky to stare at him. Freeze to death? He spoke so casually about it, as if her becoming a Guardiancicle by morning was no big deal. Even if she did have a way to be revived, the death itself would be terrifying.

He glanced up at her and froze, jerky halfway to his mouth. "I can bring you back though."

It wasn't convincing. They ate the rest of their meal in silence, the storm raging outside. Her teeth had begun to chatter, and her fingers were numb. The cold crept into her bones, causing her skin to feel like it was pricked with needles.

"Are your gloves dry?" Cayde asked.

"No. They're soaked with blood from those Fallen you wanted me to hide."

"Here. Take mine."

"It's fine."

"Hey, it's just us here. No need to be prideful. I won't tell." He picked up his right arm and bit the index fingertip of the glove and pulled it free before doing the same with his left hand. He tossed the gloves her way and she hesitated before picking them up, muttering a thank you while she slipped them on.

They were far too big, but they were warm, which she hadn't expected. She leaned forward, away from the damp wall, tucking her hands under her arms.

"Sounds like a blizzard out there," Cayde whistled. "Hope we don't get snowed in."

Wren's stomach dropped. She hadn't thought about getting stuck. The food she'd brought wouldn't last another day and she didn't know if she would even survive the night.

"That'll really get people talking," she said flatly as she stood to check outside.

Snow was already piling up and the biting wind outside stung her face and eyes. She pulled the faux lichen back over the cave opening and retreated to the spot she'd come from. How would they manage to escape? More, how was she supposed to get him to the peak? She peered over at where his leg was supposed to be. And there was the issue of surviving the night.

"We should get some sleep," Cayde said. "That first ship should be going over in the next hour or so. We should rest for a few hours and try to catch the next one before the snow gets too deep,"

"I think we're too late for that."

"Maybe. We could try to scale the mountain now…" Cayde offered but a flash of lightning and a deafening boom of thunder cut him off. Once it faded, he chuckled nervously. "On the other hand, I don't mind the snow."

"I don't think I can sleep." Wren was trembling, partially from the cold, partially from the storm. Oddly enough it created a sense of tension and anxiety in her. Being stuck only made it worse.

"If you freeze I can bring you back."

"That isn't helping."

"Here," Cayde said, moving closer to the middle of the floor and laying on his left side and curling his good arm under his head. His back was to Wren and he looked over his shoulder at her. "Spoon me."

"Excuse me?"

"C'mon, spoon me."

"Uh… I don't—"

"You know, like two spoons in a drawer. All these moving parts in here are good for heat and I mean, cold won't kill me so… scooch on in here."

Wren stared at him, wide eyed, face burning hot. Was he suggesting she sleep next to him? Of course, he was, what else could be mean? Surely not…

"I won't tell. And you won't freeze. Win win!"

He sounded way too excited.

"You promise you won't tell?"

"I can pinkie promise if you want."

"I want to never talk about that again."

Cayde laughed. "We can arrange that."

Wren had started to crawl toward him when she paused. "In exchange for what?"

"That Sparrow ride."

His blue eyes glowed over his shoulder at her, searching her face for any sign of emotion. He'd find suspicion fading to a faint smile.

"Fine. And… this never leaves this cave," she said, laying behind him.

"You got it."

Wren kept her distance, laying a few inches away. She could smell the worn leather of his armor, the charred wires of his inured limbs, and various other scents he'd picked up from being in the Tower's hanger for too long. It wasn't altogether unpleasant, but it was strong.

"Closer," he said. "Being shy now'll get you killed."

"Don't remind me."

"C'mon."

Wren groaned but scoot closer, pressing against his back. He was much warmer than she expected, and goosebumps covered her skin. But it was much more than that. Her face flushed as she put her forehead between his shoulder blades.

"That wasn't hard was it? Grab my cloak and wrap up. There we go. We'll make sure you get through the night."

"Not a word of this to anyone or I swear—"

"Don't worry about it. Your secret's safe with me."